Hispanic American entrepreneurs have founded businesses to serve their own communities and surrounding communities, including barber shops, beauty salons, restaurants and catering companies, hotels, newspapers and other media outlets, as well as in the fashion and beauty industries. This demographic is also strongly represented in construction, accommodation and technology industries. Latino-owned businesses are the fastest growing sector of the U.S. business economy, increasing by 34 percent in the past decade according to Stanford Business School.

According to the U.S. Census, the Hispanic or Latino population reached 62.1 million in 2020. This demographic grew 23%, while the population that was not of Hispanic or Latino origin grew 4.3% since 2010. Eight detailed groups had populations of 1 million or more in 2020: Mexican (35.9 million); Puerto Rican (5.6 million), Salvadoran (2.3 million); Cuban and Dominican (each at 2.2 million); Guatemalan (1.7 million); Colombian (1.3 million); and Honduran (1.1 million).¹

Consider reviewing the Latinx and Latin American Collections: Resources in the American Folklife Center library guide for information on archival collections available at the Library of Congress that include documentation on Hispanic-owned small businesses.

Although researching smaller companies may prove more challenging, the Library's Doing Company Research guide may provide some helpful tips for finding out more information on them. The Doing Historical Company Research guide will assist with researching older or out of business companies. If you need assistance with your research, please submit a question our Ask a Librarian service.